What is the eternal dream? To see into the future.

And for that, we need not so much clairvoyance as clear vision. Seen from above a plane’s window seat, our time on this planet can look like a picture postcard. But at ground level, with clear-sightedness, we can choose to see life in black and white or exclusively through rose-tinted spectacles. We can choose to confront life head-on, as it comes, or prefer to see it coming. Often, seeing is believing. Thus, glasses reveal the world to our eyes, but they also hide the tears, wrinkles or joy of the person who wears them.

ICONOfly, the Art and Accessory Magazine, is dedicating its third collector’s issue to glasses. Its unique concept allows artists with an eye for inspiration to create and publish unseen work on that very topic. Nicolas Rey offers a short story; songwriter Benjamin Biolay his best lyrics; comic strip artist Jean-Claude Gotting two inspired pages; and Marzia Miglioria... an optometric test. Last but not least, pastry chef Sébastien Gaudard gives us a mystifying recipe for chocolate glasses. Having scrutinized all this, you can delve into the history, figures, glamorous clichés and famous designs of the optical accessory… with a fresh eye.

Will you adopt the visionary viewpoint of these artists? According to the writer André Maurois, it’s quite simple really: “We seek happiness in the same way that we constantly search for our glasses - yet they are usually at the tip of our nose”.